


Merry Fuckin' Christmas

by twdsunshine



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 20:32:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16940226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twdsunshine/pseuds/twdsunshine
Summary: It’s Christmas day at the Sanctuary and it’s snowing, but Negan still has work to do…





	Merry Fuckin' Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for @kittenofdoomage‘s Canon Christmas Challenge on Tumblr. It’s just a short little fluff piece, but it was so much fun to write Negan letting off a little steam. My prompt was shovelling snow. Happy reading!

It was a wonderland, the bleak grey monstrosity of the Sanctuary and its grounds blanketed with sparkling white, untouched, unsullied.  You’d awoken early, the watery sunlight that crept into your dorm casting a luminous glow over the room and sending you flying to the window to see that it had finally happened, and minutes later you were racing from your dorm, bundled up in the warmest clothes you owned.  Now, only your footprints cut through the fresh snow which crunched under foot as you spun, arms outstretched, tipping your head back to catch the falling flakes on your tongue.  You felt like a child again, full of hope and amazement, filled with the desperate desire to flop down onto your back and make a snow angel.  You were about to give in to your urges, were readying yourself to fall backwards, when the sound of scraping metal reached your ears, and you frowned in confusion, following the sound around the building to the front, where you could see a solitary figure brandishing a shovel, scraping the snow away from the gates.  

Drawing nearer, your heart skipped a beat as you recognised the long-limbed movements of your leader, the dangerous head Savior that you feared and respected in equal amounts.  Your dealings with him had always been minimal, and yet he was raising a hand in your direction, beckoning you over as he leant on the handle of his shovel, dragging his arm across his forehead as he waited for you to cross the yard towards him.

‘Well, good morning there, sweetheart, and merry fuckin’ Christmas!’

His smile was contagious, the way his teeth caught his bottom lip as he waited for you to respond sending a shiver through your body, and you found yourself grinning back at him, despite the awkwardness you felt standing before him.  ‘Merry Christmas to you.  I wasn’t expecting to see anyone else up this early.’

‘Well, it’s a beautiful damn day and I for one didn’t wanna waste it lazin’ around in bed.’  He was eyeing you curiously and you felt yourself melting beneath his gaze, only registering after several long seconds that he seemed to be waiting for something.

With a startled gasp, you moved to drop to your knees, cursing yourself for forgetting protocol, but a gloved hand wrapped around your wrist, tugging you upright before you could hit the ground.  ‘Sorry, I-’

‘What the hell are you doin’, doll?’  His honeyed laugh rumbled from his chest and you felt it vibrate through you when he didn’t relinquish his grip.  ‘Shit, I’m not gonna make you kneel out here.  You’ll freeze that cute little ass off and that… Well, that would just be a damn shame.’

Heat rushed to your cheeks and you dropped your gaze to the ground, shifting uncomfortably at the unexpected flirtation.  ‘I’m sorry, Negan, I just… I got a little excited, I guess.  Forgot myself.’

‘Hell, didn’t I just tell you not to worry about it?’  He stepped closer to you so you could feel the warmth radiating from him, the red scarf wrapped tightly around his neck fending off the chill in the air.  ‘Now, tell me, princess, what’s your name and why the hell haven’t I seen you round here before?’

It wasn’t surprising that he’d forgotten the couple of times that he’d browsed over your stand in the marketplace, his gaze trained only on your wares before he’d moved swiftly on.  After all, he was the big boss, and you were most definitely on the bottom rung of the ladder.  ‘Y/N,’ you managed to husk, though your mouth had gone dry as his eyes flicked to settle on your lips.  ‘I’m Y/N.  I-I kinda keep my head down round here.’

‘And what exactly is it that you do, Y/N?’

‘I’m an artist.’  That came more easily, your work the one thing you were still confident about.  ‘I do pencil sketches, portraits, that kinda thing.  I have a stall in the marketplace.’

‘Is that so?’

‘And cleaning,’ you added hurriedly, in case he should think that you didn’t pull your weight.  ‘I have a night shift cleaning the kitchens.  Means I can do that and man my stall during the day.’

‘Well, sounds like you never stop, princess.  Hard work like that should be rewarded.’

‘I get by.’  He was nodding slowly, a mischievous glint in his eye, and you changed the subject, dragging his attention away from your ways of earning.  ‘So, what are you doing out here?  Are there trucks going out today?’

‘Nah, I’ve given my men the day off.  But I figured it was safer to have an escape route cleared, y’know, just in case.’

That was smart and, when you spotted another shovel leaning against the fence, you gestured at it, quirking an eyebrow in question.  ‘Want some help?’

‘Hell, if you’re offering, I’m not gonna say no.’

You worked in silence for a half hour, side by side, the exertion of the physical labour warming your body so that a fine sheen of sweat formed beneath the layers you’d dressed in.  From time to time, you found yourself stealing glances at the man working beside you, the muscles in his arms visible even through the leather of his jacket, flexing and shifting as he worked.  You heart faltered at the primal reaction your body had to the sight and you ducked your head, focusing on scraping at the snow until the ground beneath came into view.  

When the job was done, Negan laid his shovel down, leaning back with his hands behind his head.  ‘Well, that oughta do it.’

You nodded, a little breathless.  ‘Hopefully we won’t need to use it.’

‘Better to be safe than sorry.’  He turned to you with that crooked grin plastered on his face again, your stomach dipping as you became the sole focus of his attention.  ‘So, tell me, I’m guessin’ you didn’t climb outta bed this early to shovel fuckin’ snow.  What are you doin’ up at this hour on Christmas day all alone?’

‘I’m not alone,’ you countered and he smirked.  ‘Alright, if you really wanna know, I was coming out to make snow angels.’

‘For real?’

‘Yeah!  I used to make them with my brother when we were kids,’ you explained.  ‘Always takes me back.  This is the first snow I’ve seen in years so I just thought…’  You tailed off at the incredulous look he was shooting you, embarrassed.  ‘I know it’s kinda dumb.’

Sensing your discomfort, he stepped forward, reaching out to dislodge a fat snowflake that was glistening in your hair.  ‘Ain’t nothin’ dumb about that.’

For a moment, his dark eyes locked on yours and you forgot how to breathe, his close proximity shaking you to your core, but then those damn fingers were wrapping around your wrist again and he was towing you across the yard.  ‘What are you-’

‘C’mon, doll, you did me a solid just now.  Let’s go be kids for a while!’  You honestly didn’t believe that he’d go through with it but, when he dragged you around to the side of the building where the covering of snow was thicker and leaned his tall, rangy body back, winking at you as he let himself fall, you couldn’t fight the giggle that escaped you.  His arms were waving now, sliding back and forth across the ground, his fingertips outstretched to elongate the wings that were forming either side of him.  ‘Well, what are you waiting for?’

Shaking your head at the unlikeliness of the situation, you gave in to the temptation, flopping backwards with a soft crunch and squealing as the cold seeped through your clothes, taking your breath away.  ‘It’s freezing!’

‘It’s fuckin’ snow!’ came the shouted reply, the humour evident in his voice.  

You busied yourself creating your wings, opening your legs to form the skirt of the angel’s robes.  Just for a moment, you were a child again.  There were no walkers, no points.  Your family weren’t dead.  Your brother was at your side and your folks were indoors, your mom preparing a feast in the kitchen and your pop settled in front of the TV, dozing in front of some cheesy Christmas movie.  You could smell the turkey cooking, hear your brother’s excited laughter, feel the mittens that clothed your fingers.  It was so real.  

‘Hey, you alright down there?’  Negan’s voice dragged you back to the present and you swallowed hard, fighting against the nostalgia that threatened to overwhelm you.  ‘Looked like I lost you for a minute.’

‘Yeah.’  You forced a smile, blinking up at him, refusing to allow the tears that had formed in your eyes to fall.  ‘Yeah, I’m good.  Sorry, I just…’

‘Yeah, I know.  Shit, it happens to the best of us, sweetheart.’

Sadness hung heavy in the air as your clothes soaked through, your body starting to shiver as your excitement ebbed away, and then a snowball hit you square in the chest, shocking you out of your grief.  ‘What the hell?’

‘What’s the matter, doll?  You chicken?’

It was a wonder that your raucous laughter and shrieks didn’t wake the rest of the Sanctuary as you and Negan battled, snowballs flying back and forth across the yard as you raced about, stumbling in the drifts and ducking behind trucks.  It was a blissful release from the day-to-day monotony, even as strong arms wrapped around you from behind, lifting you clear from the ground and spinning you round, until you collapsed in a shaking heap, a tangle of limbs, soggy clothing and dripping hair.

‘I’m tellin’ you, this is the most fuckin’ fun I’ve had in years.’

‘You and me both,’ you agreed, breathing hard, your nose frozen as you sniffed.  ‘I needed this.’

The snowfall had gotten heavier as you played, coming down in thick swirls of white, and Negan pushed himself up on one elbow, reaching over to brush his fingertips over your eyelashes, smiling when you laughed at the lightness of his touch.  ‘I can’t believe I never noticed you before.’

‘Why would you?’  You scrubbed a damp glove over your face, wiping away the stray flakes and wrinkling your nose when you left a trail of moisture behind.  ‘I’m just a lowly worker bee.’

‘Nah.’  He shook his head.  ‘You are so much more than that.’

Your breath caught in your throat as he closed the distance between you, blowing warm air over your face before his lips grazed yours, tentative at first, as though he expected you to push him away.  But hell, he tasted like coffee and a hint of mint and you couldn’t think of any reason why you shouldn’t give in to him.  As your arms laced around his neck, pulling him closer, he deepened the kiss, sinking in to you with a soft groan that make your stomach dip.  You could have laid like that for hours as his mouth moved on yours, no longer aware of the cold and the damp, the heat growing between you melting the snow as soon as it settled on your skin.  When he pulled away, you actually whimpered, a fact that you were sure would embarrass you when you replayed it later, but he was smiling at you, his tongue snaking over his bottom lip as he watched you trying to catch your breath.

‘We should get you inside, doll.  Get you outta those wet clothes.’

‘Is that right?’  You smirked at him and you could’ve sworn he flushed, though you’d never have believed it of a man that boasted multiple wives.  But you weren’t gonna think about that today.  It was Christmas after all.

‘You tellin’ me you don’t want to?’

‘Well, I am pretty wet.’

‘I’ll bet you are.’  You shoved him away playfully, but clambered to your feet, smiling to yourself when he did the same, his fingers linking through yours as he led you back towards the building.  ‘I said it before and I’ll say it again.  Merry fuckin’ Christmas!’


End file.
